Fixedly directed hand operated striping machine with attachment for facilitating maneuverability



United States Patent I Andrew J. Clinger:

Howie County, Tpxu (Rte 10 Box 814 Texarlmta, Tex. 75501) Dec, 16, 1968 Nov. 17, 1970 Inventor Appl No. Filed Patented FIXEDLY DIRECTED HAND OPERATED STIIPING MACHINE WITH ATTACHMENT FOR FACILITATING MANEUVERABILITY 8 Clalmi, 6 Drawing Fi m.

US. Cl. .J 222/178, 239/150, 280/4323, 280/150 Int. Cl. AOlc 15/00 Iiteld of Search 222/ l 76,

ms, 164; 239/150, lnq;280/150A, 150.5, 5.2, 43.23; ISO/6.2, Inq; 254/21, 214; 2.6, Inq

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,783,689 12/1930 Angier ZZZ/176x 2,515,865 7/1950 Fisher..,.,. 239/150 3,444,583 5/1969 Laurel l80/6.2X 3,47 1 J68 10/1969 Steinberg et al 280/150(A) Primary Examiner-Robert B. Reeves Arsl'stanl Examiner- David A. Scherbel Attorney-Ralph R. Pittman ABSTRACT: A hand operated paint striping machine having wheels journaled for rotation in coextensive parallel planes and utilizing eompressed air for paint application has a pneumatic lift secured at its forward end. The lift has a swivelled caster at it; lower end to facilitate manipulation of the machine, controlled from a valve on the handle of the machine.

1. rrxantv nrnacren IiANDOPERA-TED sIlumNo mourns wrru Armc airs-snort rxcru'rxrmc MANEUYEB BIL Y BACKGROUNDOF THE lNVENTlON This. invention relates. generally to machines, for painting boundarylines on pavements, andmorespecifically .tothe in corporation of means for; facilitating. turning of fixedly directed striping machines.

Pavement line marking, is predominately a matter of rectilinear movement, and for this reason the, wheels of striping machines rotate on nonturnable .axles.lf itis desired to turn the machine, it, isnecessary to manipulate it on: its rear wheels while manually holding the. front end of the machine, including the-front wheel, .in a raisedposition above, the pavement.

Because of the fact that front wheel contact with the surface is depended upon to fix the direction of the'machine, it. is essential thatadequate weight be normally earried by the front. wheel to so function. It is this weight which. must be lifted by e an operator of a hand operated'machine; to effect a changein direction. In marking parking lots, for example,.the requireto anelevation convenient formauualmanipulation of the 1 machine. There being no steeringappai'atus on the machine,

itsdirection can be changed onlynby bearing down on the handles l9.until the front wheelld is lifted above the surface, and

. As shown in more detailin FIGS. 4 and,5, the pneumatic lift i 12 has a hollow upper pressure cylinder-'26, closed at its'upper end by the threaded cap 27, through which an air inlet and 4 haust connection 28 extends. A piston formed by the leather cup disk '29 and [theumetal washer 3 0 fitted therein has fastened thereto, by means of the retaining nuts 31, the upper endof the piston rod 32, the latter extendingcoaxially through and downwardly below the cylinder-26 through-a central openingat its lower end. Theperiphery of the cup disk 29 con-.

ment is usuallyforlayingdown a large number of. short,

spaced parallel linesof paint, each-line requiring two l180 turns per line.

An object. of 1 the invention is the modification. .of a rectilinearly directed hand operatedstriping-machine forthe purpose of facilitatingits maneuverability, particularly in short radiusturning.

Another object of theinventionis the. addition of a-pneu matic lift attachment to a striping-machine which is operable from the compressed air. equipment required for use-intpaint- A further object isthe association of a pneumatic lift with theforward end of a paint striping machine, the lift having a single wheel caster for bearing on the surface and being so mounted that its longitudinal axis moves from an offfvertical to a vertical position whenzthe lift is operated'to raise the for- BRIEF DESCRIPTION .OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 illustratesthe attachment-in place'on a common .type of three wheeled striping rnachinenthe solid lines designating the components of the, attachment andthe brokenlinesthose of the machine;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentaryviewof the modified machine showing the elevation of the wheels when'the machine is in use for straight line marking;

FIG. 3 in similar view, showing the relative elevation of the wheels following actuation of the attachment, preliminaryto a turning movementofthe-machine;

FIG. 4 is an elevational view of the pneumatic lift;

FIG. .5. is a generallysectional view of the pneumatic lift; and

FIG. 6 shows diagrammatically theairvalve control of the lift.

DESCRIPTION OFTHE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT secured to the frame 22, extending rearwardly and upwardly in theupper cylinder,

tacts the inner surfaee'of thecylinder26 in slipfit engagement,

.sothat-the piston and piston rod are reciprocably movable along the inside of the cylinder. '26, and will be driven downward .upon admission of compressed air through the connection 28. I

-A lower guide cylinder 36 extends coaxially downward from and-is rigidlyv joined to'the lower endflange 35 of the upper cylinder, andthereciprocably' movable push rod 37 is fitted for slidable movement within the lower cylinder. The

downwardly projectingend ofthe piston rod 32 is disposed to engage the pushrod37' at thebottom of-the coaxially extending opening 38 after moving in slipfit engagement therewith, this arrangement constituting a lost motion relationship betweenthese members. To-preclude, angular or rotary motion ,of the pushrod 37, a grooved keyway 39'extends inwardly from-its surface and longitudinally alongside its reeiprocablc path of movement, and a set key 40, rigidly secured in the wall of the lower cylinder36, projects into the groove.

'Thepush rod 37 terminates at its lower flange 41, and the caster42 is attachedthereto, extending downwardly from its swivel joint 43, which is preferably aball bearing joint. The caster 42, absent compressed air acting on the piston of the upper cylinder, isheldin the up or retracted position by the helical spring4 5 which extends between the flanges 35 and 41, andisdovvnwardly drivable against the bias of the spring in response to the admission of compressed air above the piston -As maybe seenfrorn FIG. 5, the attachment plate 33 is preferably inclined divergently upward'with respect to the coextensive axes of' the cylinders, the plate being rigidly welded thereto at the flange 35 and at a second weld 44 therebelom.Theattachrneut' plate may be rigidly secured to the foremost portion of the machineframe by bolts passing through the fastener slotsf34, and the frame, or by welding, as

may be best adapted to a specif c-machine.

FIGLI shows'the preferred construction for enabling use of the compressed air. from the receiver of the paint machine for actuatingthe.lift. -The tubing}! extendsalong'the frame and the, associated handle to the manually operable air control valveqll, thelatter being located for convenient manual accessby the operator of 'the rmachine as customarily used, and

the tubing: 18 provides a path for theimovement of compressed air fromthe receiver; 17 to the valve 11.

The, diagram, FIG. 6, shows in more detail the connection and selectivepositions of the, air control valve. The compressor in itsnormal operation suppliescompressed air to the receiver "at a-pressuresuitableforpaintapplication. The

valve 1! is manually operable to three alternate positions by corresponding movements of the valve core 51 with its L- shapedgchannelSO; namely, to (I supply air to the lift, (2) discharge compressed'air'from the lift to' the atmosphere or (3 complete cutoff, asshown by the solid lines of FIG. 6.

The fragmentary view, FIG. 2, of the machine with the lift attached, shows the position of the related components as they appear when themachinc is being used for straight line marking. It will be seen that the caster 42 is retracted, being spaced from the supporting surface as indicated at the numeral 46, and the front wheel 24 is resting on the surface, as indicated at the numeral 49. FIG. 3 similarly showsthe relative position of v the wheels after actuation of the lift, the wheel of the caster having been projected to press against the surface, as at 48, and thereby lifting the front wheel 24 from the surface, as indicated at 47. The inclination of the attachment plate with respect to the coaxial longitudinal axes of the cylinders is such that these axes move from an off-vertically alignment indicated in FIG. 2 to a vertical alignment as the frame is swung upward by the lift about the rear wheels 23, as shown in FIG. 3, during which operation the wheel of the caster turns to compensate for the altered axial alignment,

The location of the lift at the foremost portion of the machine affordsmaximum lever arm for lifting the weight normally carried by the front wheel, thereby making possible a lift of minimumdimensio'ns. Since the front wheel must carry a substantial weight to assure correct directional movement of the machine during the striping procedure, the raising of this weight by actuating the lift in response to a movement of the control valve handle relieves the operator of the physically exhausting practice of bearing down on the machine handles to lift this substantial weight. To further facilitate turning of the machine, the axle of the wheel of the caster is laterally offset with respect to the vertical axis of the lift, thereby providing for an easy and smooth swivelling motion of the machine about the caster. v

These structural advantages contribute substantially to facile maneuvering of the machine, particularly in the common situation requiring the painting of a large number of short, parallellines, asin parking lot areas. As a practical matter, it is only necessary to raise the front wheel sufficiently to disengage the supporting surface for easy manipulation of the machine when a change of direction is desired, and after the machine has been turned, a further movement of the control valve permits the compressed air utilized in the lifting procedure to exhaust to the atmosphere, restoring normal weight to the front guiding wheel. The previously stretched retracting spring then functions to hold the caster above the pavement, to avoid the wear which would other wise be uselessly imposed on the lift components by continuous contact of the caster with the supporting surface.

I. claim: v

1. In a hand operated paint striping machine including a frame and a front and a pair of rear supporting wheels mounted thereon for rotation on a surface along coextensive vertical planes, the frame having aportion thereof extending forwardly beyond the front wheel, ,paint applying means including a receiver containing compressed air carried on the frame and a pair of handles joined to thefrarne and extending rearwardly therefrom, the improvement which comprises the attachment of an uprightly disposed pneumatic lift to the forwardly extending portion of the frame, the'pneumatic lift having a reciprocably movable caster swivelly mounted at the lower end of the lift, resilient means normally holding said caster at an elevation above the, surface,.and means including manually operable valve means mounted on oneof said handles for connecting the air receiver to .the pneumatic lift to thereby propel the caster downwardly to engagement with the surface and concurrently raise the front-wheel to disengage mediate the ends thereof and inclined from its lower ed e divergently with respect to the longitudinal axis of the lift, tfie divergence being such that the caster rolls forwardly as the fro nt whe el of the striping machine is raised to deflect the longitudinal axis of the lift to a vertical position.

5. In a hand operated paint striping machine including a frame and a front and a pair of rear supporting wheels mounted thereon for rotation on a surface 'in a predetermined fixed direction, the frame having a portion extending forwardly beyond the front wheel, a receiver containing compressed air at a pressure adapted for paintapplication carried on the frame, and a pair of handles joined to'the frame and extending upwardly and rearwardly therefrom, the improvement comprising the attachment to the forwardly extending portion of said frame of an uprightly disposed pneumatic lift, said lift comprising a serial arrangementof an upper pressure cylinder having at'its upper end an air connection opening, a piston and an associated piston rod reciprocably movable in said upper cylinder and downwardly drivable in response to admission of compressed air at said pressure through said opening, means including manually operable valve means mounted on one of said handles for selectively admitting said compressed air through said air connection opening, a lower guide cylinder extending coaxially from and below the upper cylinder into which said piston rod coaxially projects, a reciprocably movable p'ush rod in said lower cylinder downwardly drivable to project therefrom inresponse to-a downward movement of said piston rod, resilient means normally restraining the projection of said push rod, a caster swivelly mounted on the lower end of said push rod, and a transversely extending attachment plate fastened at the juncture of the cylinders, said plate extending from said juncture upwardly along the upper cylinder and downwardly along the lower cylinder and being rigidly secured to the forwardly extending portion of said frame at an elevation normally disposing saidcaster above said surface and in'position to bear against said surface and thereby raise the front wheel when said push rod is downwardly driven.

6. The striping machine as defined in claim 5, wherein the attachment plate of, the lift inclines from its, lower edge divergently with respect to the coextensive axes of the cylinders.

. 7. The striping machine in accordance with claim 5,

. wherein the push rod of the pneumatic lift has a longitudinally extending groove alongside its reciprocable path of rnovement and a set key extendingthrough the wall of the lower cylinder cooperates with said groove to restrain radial movement of the push rod.

8. The striping machine as set forth in claim 5, in which the piston rod drives the push rod through a lost motion connecting construction. 

